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Bill Belichick, coach, New England Patriots: the Grinch in a hoodie. It all started in Super Bowl XXV when Belichick, then the New York Giants defensive coordinator, held the Bills vaunted passing game in check. It was the launch of a long stretch of Belichick-inflicted misery that persists to this day.

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Gary Bettman, NHL commish, pictured, and Brett Hull, Dallas Stars winger: The skateu2019s in the crease. The 1998-99 Stanley Cupu2019s awarded. And the replays showing Game Six-deciding goal that shouldnu2019t have counted because Hullu2019s skate preceded the puck into the crease are ignored. The NHL eventually contrives an explanation that a rebound constitutes continuous possession and therefore Hull was entitled to be positioned as he was. Sabres fans never miss out on an opportunity to remind Bettman they will never buy it.

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John Y. Brown, owner, Buffalo Braves u2013 Undermined the franchise through roster moves that banished the better players. When attendance dropped, Brown had his justification for selling the team, prompting its relocation.

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John Chaney, coach, Temple: The fiery, outspoken and successful Temple coach had a way of getting under the skin of Bona fans. During a January 2000 game at the Reilly Center he received a technical foul for smashing a cookie on the court, a cookie he insisted that had been thrown at him from someone in the crowd. Said Chaney, "I had chocolate chips in my hair. They used to throw quarters.u201d

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Bobby Clarke, center, Philadelphia Flyers: His relentless style and toothless smile epitomized the tenacious nature of the Flyers team that defeated the Sabres in the 1974-75 Stanley Cup finals.

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Bryan Cox, linebacker, Miami Dolphins: Few opponents relished the give-and-take with Bills fans as much as Cox. How deeply did Cox despise Bills fans? Only he could put a finger on it.

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Tie Domi, winger, Toronto Maple Leafs: The Toronto agitator amassed 3,515 penalty minutes in his career and seemingly all of them were assessed for fights with Rob Ray.

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Tom Donahoe, GM/president, Bills: Questionable trades and draft picks (J.P. Losman, Mike Willliams, Willis McGahee) and a belief he could do no wrong alienated Donahoe from the masses and led to the ouster of the first man outside owner Ralph Wilson Jr. granted full power to guide the franchise.

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Kevin Dyson, receiver, pictured, and Frank Wycheck, tight end, Tennessee Titans: The main players in u201cHome Run Thrownback,u201d the unconventional kick return play that lifted the Titans to a 22-16, last-seconds victory over the Bills in the Wild Card game played Jan. 8, 2000. The Bills havenu2019t been back to the playoffs since.

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Ray Emery, goaltender, Ottawa: Loved to fight and had a quick trigger to boot. Engaged Marty Biron during the brawl that followed the Chris Neil hit on Chris Drury. And once he separated from Biron, Andrew Peters took him on.

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Chris Ford, guard, Villanova: The outcome is decided. Only minutes remain. And here comes Ford tripping through the lane and straight into Bob Lanier in the NCAA East Regional final, shredding Lanieru2019s knee and with it St. Bonaventureu2019s legitimate 1970 title chances. The injury will always be one of the great u201cWhat ifs?u201d on the Buffalo sports scene.

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Darryl Garretson, NBA official, not pictured: Called the controversial foul on Bob McAdoo that sent Bostonu2019s JoJo White to the line for the winning foul shots in Game Six of the 1973-74 playoffs after the Braves had scored four points in the final 10 seconds to tie it up. The result gave the series to the Celtics.

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Wally Harris, NHL referee, not pictured: Generation Baby Boomer surely still can hear the chant echoing throughout the cavernous Aud: u201cHarris is a bum. Harris is a bum.u201d

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Tommy Heinsohn, player and coach, right, Boston Celtics: Before there was Cam Neely and Tom Brady this rugged Celtics forward was the Boston athlete who got under the skin of Buffalo sports fans.

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Brett Hull, Dallas Stars winger, pictured, and Gary Bettman, NHL commish: The skateu2019s in the crease. The 1998-99 Stanley Cupu2019s awarded. And the replays showing Game Six-deciding goal that shouldnu2019t have counted because Hullu2019s skate preceded the puck into the crease are ignored. The NHL eventually contrives an explanation that a rebound constitutes continuous possession and therefore Hull was entitled to be positioned as he was. Sabres fans never miss out on an opportunity to remind Bettman they will never buy it.

Mark Mulville/Buffalo News file photo

Dale Hunter, center, Quebeck Nordiques: A member of the Quebec Nordiques teams that tormented the Sabres during the late 1970s and early u201880s. He could play cheap, even dirty, but there was more to his game. Heu2019s the only NHL players with more than 3,000 penalty minutes and more than 1,000 points.

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Jimmy Johnson, coach, Dallas Cowboys u2013 Beat the Bills in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII without so much as a single hair drooping out of place.

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Claude Lemieux, winger, Montreal/New Jersey: Could make this list in just about every NHL city. Lemieux was an agitator extraordinaire who infuriated opposing fans all the more by playing the victim with Academy Award-worthy embellishments. But a complete charlatan he was not. He also scored 379 career goals.

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Dan Marino, quarterback, Miami Dolphins: Despised out of respect. He quarterbacked the Billsu2019 chief divisional rival during the Glory Days but rarely got the better of them.

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Doug Marrone: Became the third head coach to walk out on the Bills when he exercised an exit option at the end of the 2014 season. Gruff, elitist attitude endeared him to no one.

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Willis McGahee, running back, Bills: The Renaissance Man had this to say about Buffalo after being traded to Baltimore: u201cComing from Miami, I was used to partying, going out, just having something to do every night. Restaurants, whatever. Going to Buffalo, it was like hitting a brick wall. Like, u2018Damn!u2019 Canu2019t go out, canu2019t do nothing. Thereu2019s an Applebeeu2019s, a TGI Fridayu2019s, and they just got a Dave & Busters. They got that, and Iu2019m like, u2018What the?u2019 And, you know, the women u2026 You see, when I was in college thatu2019s what I used to thrive off of. The better you do, the more fame you get. So you know, it was like, I was used to that. And then you get to Buffalo and no matter how you do, itu2019s the same. Itu2019s no big city. You know what I did every day? I came home and played video games.u201d

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Chris Neil, winger, Ottawa: His blindside hit on Chris Drury in February 2007 KOu2019d the Sabresu2019 captain, opened a 20-stitch cut and prompted the Sabres to instigate a full-scale brawl on the ensuing face-off.

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Ohio University basketball: UB appeared on its way to the MAC menu2019s basketball championship and its first NCAA Tournament berth u2026 until the Bobcats rallied from 19 down in the second half and won in OT on a Leon Williams tip-in that seemed to hang on the rim forever before falling through the hoop.

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Bill Parcells, coach, New York Giants: Letu2019s face it. If Scott Norwoodu2019s kick pierces the uprights in SB XXV, then Parcells doesnu2019t make the villain cut. But it didnu2019t, and thus he does.

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Darcy Regier, GM, Buffalo Sabres: Became the scapegoat for all that ailed the team but brought much of it on himself with his meticulous (fear-filled?) approach to remaking the franchise.

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Razor Shines, infielder, infielder, Indianapolis Indians: Outspoken personality loved to stir the pot during the intense Bisons-Indians rivalry of the 1980s, a decade during which Indy won five regular-season titles. Ended up joining the Bisons for 42 games in 1990.

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Don Shula, coach, Miami Dolphins: A forerunner to Belichick in that he was the first head coach of a disciplined, no-nonsense team to torment the Bills again and again and again and u2026

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Jan Van Breda Kolff, pictured, and Robert Wickenheiser, St. Bonaventure basketball coach and president: Signed the certificate declaring Jamil Terrell eligible despite the protestations of AD Gothard Lane and compliance official Barbara Questa. Scandal ensued beginning in March of 2003 and sent the Bonnies on a long, painful road to recovery.

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Jan Van Breda Kolff, and Robert Wickenheiser, pictured at center, St. Bonaventure basketball coach and president: Signed the certificate declaring Jamil Terrell eligible despite the protestations of AD Gothard Lane and compliance official Barbara Questa. Scandal ensued beginning in March of 2003 and sent the Bonnies on a long, painful road to recovery.

Buffalo News archives

Frank Wycheck, tight end, pictured, and Kevin Dyson, receiver, Tennessee Titans: The main players in u201cHome Run Thrownback,u201d the unconventional kick return play that lifted the Titans to a 22-16, last-seconds victory over the Bills in the Wild Card game played Jan. 8, 2000. The Bills havenu2019t been back to the playoffs since.

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Donte Whitner, safety, Browns: The former Bills safety posted these comments on Twitter in July of 2014: u201cWonder how you Bills fans gonna feel when the team is moved? LOLu201d and u201cCan you say Toronto Bills?!?!?!?!u201d

Western New York embraces its sports figures, for sure. The love is not extended to those wearing an opponent's uniform. For select foes, it unquestionably rises to a level of disdain. The News' sports department picked out some of those foes that hold special places of dislike in the hearts of Western New York sports fans.